Pipe-cleaning machine



Jan. 6, 1925- 1,521,135

' J. VLAHOS PIPE CLEANING MACHINE Filed March 10, 19235 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEYS Jan. 1925- 1,521,735 J. VLAHOS PIPE 01.5mm moans Filed March 10. 192: Shoots-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 6, 1925.

UNITED STATES,

PATE mu; 1

JOHN VLAI-IOS, or BATON, NEW ivi nxroo.

PIPE-CLEANING MACHINE. I

, Applicationnled March :10,-,19 23.f$eria1 N0. 624,192.. j i

i To all whom it may concern I Be it known that I, J OHN ject of the King of Greece, and aresi'dent of Raton,,in the county of Colfax and State of New Mexico, have lnventedcertain new and" useful Improvements in PipeeCleaning Ma- An object of the invention is the provision of a device for thoroughly removing or grinding off the formation of rust, dirt, scale, etc., in an efficient manner from the body of the pipe without injuriously affecting said body while under treatment. A further object of the invention is the provision of a device which is simple and commercially practical because of its construction and its relatively light weight whereby the device may be readily transported to 'a boiler for cleaning the pipes of said boiler.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent during the course of the following 7 description. i V so The invention is illustrated by way of ex-. 1 ample in the accompanying drawings, .in which, 7 l

' Figure 1 is a longitudinal elevation of the pipe cleaner.

Figure 2is an end elevation of the same, Figure. 3 is a transverse vertical section taken'along the line 3''3 of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates a base member of a portable frame and which is provided with spaced verticalst-andards 2 and 3. Mounted at its opposite ends in the standards 2 and 3 is a drive-"shaftjt upon whichis keyed a gear 5. v A drum 6 is keyed to the shaft 4 and is of the same size and adshaft. A belt 8 engages the drum 7 and idly revolves said drum when the machine is not in operation. In order to rotate the druinfi and, likewise the shaft 4-, the belt 8 is shifted tostheidrum --6wlien desired. I j.

VLAHOS, a sub slots .12.

jacent a drum 7 loosely mounted on the A second shaft 9-is mounted its p site endsfin bearings carriedby the cross.

heads 10 and 11. Theextreme ends of the shaft, as shown in Figure 3, project through arcuately shaped slots 12 out in the'wall of the vertical standards 2 and 3, the radius of the arcuate slot being equal tothe distance between'the centers of the shafts Land 9. 7' Rigidly connected. to each of the crossheads 10 and 11 are a pair of guide rods 13,

which have their upper ends slidable in passagesvformed in. blocks 14 which are pivot-,-

ally mountedo-n a rod 15, the ends of which being secured in; openings in the vertical standards 2 and 3 and adjacent the upper ends of the same. The rod'15 is located in substantiallyjthe same vertical'plane passing through the shaft 9. The blocks Mare similar in construction and'shape to the cross heads 10 and 11. j 1

Coil springslG havinfgtheir opposite ends abutting the inner {faces .of the blocksl t and the cross heads 10;and11 tend-tomaintain said crosslheads atthe lowermost po-,- sition with the endsof the shaft 9 being located at the bottom of thearcuately shaped sages inthe block 14, theends of theshaft 9 riding in. the arcuately-shapedslots 12.

Rigidly mounted onthe-shaft 9 are three and 18 are pivotally'mount polishing wheels 19, 20 and 21 of steel or any othersuitable material which-are rotated through the jintermeshinggears 5 and V 10. and are adapted to have peripheral ens gagement with a flue pipe 22.; Supporting the flue pipe22 are a pair of series of rollers 23, 24,, 25 and 23%,.242. 25 These rollers are rigidly connected to i shafts that are mounted in bearings attheupperend of the vertical bearing blocks 26. ,As' shownin Figures 2 and 3, each pair-of rollers .23

and 23, 245 andd24 ,25iand 25 are spaced sufficiently apart to support the pipe 22 with the rollers'19, 20 and 21 engaging said pipe.

whereby the drum 7 is rotated and since this drum is loosely mounted on the shaft 4 said shaft will not be rotated until the belt 8 is slipped to the drum 6 by'any well-known means. The shaft 4 is then rotated, likewise gear 5 and intermesh'ing gear 10 whence shaft 9 will be rotated together with the wheels 19, and 21. These wheels being in engagement with the flue pipe 22 will cause said pipe to be rotatedand likewise the rollers 23, 24, and 23*, 24%, 25. When any of the wheels 19, 20 and 21 meet an enlargement or obstruction on the outer surface of the pipe 22 a'sthe pipes are being moved between the various cleaning rollers the entire shaft including its operative connections, will be "elevated against the tensi'onof the spring 16 with the gearing 1 0 revolving around the gearing 5 and always in mesh with tlie same. It should be remembe'red that the gear 1'0 and shaft 9 are supported radially from the shaft 4 by the arms 17 and 18 so that the shaft 9fm'ay be'sw'ung upwardly with all its parts.

The spring I6 maintains the shaft "in its 7 lowernio'stposition with the end of's'aid shaft seated in the lower ends, "of the arcua't ely shaped slots '12 wherebythe wheels 1 9, 2O and 21 willbe in their lowermost position for cleaning dirtor 'ru'stfrom the pipe 22.

Rollers 23, 24 and 25 which'are adjacent the front end of the device have their hearing .blocks 26 connected together and movable as a unit by means of thescrew 28 having an operating knobfor handle 29. The screw passes through a threaded passage in the connection between said blocks whereby'said blocks are moved simultaneousiy 'and transversely of the frame for adjusting the rollers thus connected towards or away from the otherseries of rollers 23 24 and 25 in making adjustme-nts of the spacing wien larger or "smaller pipes are cleaneC'l; The connected blocks in'ovev in tracks '30. I v I The rollers 23, 24 -and 25 have their opposite faces inclined atyan angle to the vertical whereby the pipe will be moved through the cleaning "device.

WVhat I cl'aim'is:

1.'=In a pipe cleaning machine the com bination ofa'frame, a drive shaft mounted in said frame, a driven shaft, arms 'pivotall y connecting "the drive shaft with the "driven shaft means operatively'connecting the two shafts for simaitaneous rotation, driving rcil'le'rs on the drivenshaft, and drivenrolle'rs spaced from each other and the driving ends mountedfor rotation on the standard,

the'standards being provided with arcuate slots, a, driven shaft having its ends mounted for movement in the slots, arms pivotally mounted on the drive shaft at'one'end with their other ends connected with the driven shaft whereby the driven shaft is swingable through an arc'with the drive shaft as the center, means operatively connecting the two shafts for simultaneous rotation, driving rollers on the driven shaft and driven rollers spaced from each other and the drive rollers'fors'uppo'rting a pipe for treatment, and resilientmean's for 'i'i'iaintaini'ng the driving rollers in engagement with the pipe and the ends of the driven shaft at the bottom of the arcuateslots. I I

3. Ina pipe cleaning machine, the com bin'ation of a framehavi'ng a base and two vertical standards,a drive shaft havin its ends mounted for rotation on the standhrd, the standards being provided with arcuate slots, adriven shaft having its ends mountedfor movement in the slots, arms pivotally mounted on the drive shaft at one end with their other ends c'onnected'with the driven shaft whereby the driven shaft is swingable through an ar'cwith the drive shaft as the center, means operatively connecting the two shafts for simultaneous rotation, drivrollers on the driven shaft and driven rollers spaced from each other and the drive rollers for supporting a pipe for treatment, a rod having its ends secured to the vertical standards 1 and spaced above the driven shaft, spaced blocks pivotally mounted adjacent the ends of the rod and provided with spaced vertical passages, cross heads pivotally mounted adjacent the ends of the driven shaft, spaced'rods secured to the cross heads and slidable in assages in the block, springs on the rod ant between a block and a cross head for forcin the cross head downwardly and likewise tie driven shaft in its lowermost position. I

4; Ina pipe cleaning machine, the combination of 'a' frame, a drive shaft mounted for rotation in the frame, a driven shaft mounted for rotation and bodily movement in an arc of a circle in said frame, 'means operatively connecting the two shafts for simultaneous rotation, driving rollers on the driven shaft, and driven rollers spaced from each other and the drive rollers for supporting a pipe for treatment, a rod rigidly mounted in the frame, said blocks pivotally mounted on the opposite ends of the rod and provided with spaced vertical passages, cross heads pivotally mounted on the opposite ends of the driven shaft, spaced rods secured to the cross head and slidable in passages in the blocks, springs on the rod and between the blocks and the cross heads forcing the cross heads downwardly and likewise the driven shaft for maintaining the driving rollers inengagement with the pipe which is being treated.

JOHN VLAHOS. 

